PA Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program

EITC/OSTC and Special Purpose Entities Tax Credit Program
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), Special Entity program and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program are excellent opportunities for your business to support Elk County Catholic School System! Through this program, you can send your tax dollars to ECCSS, helping students further to take advantage of the wonderful Catholic education that Elk County Catholic offers!

What is the PA Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program?

In 2001, the PA General Assembly established the EITC program to promote expanded education opportunities for students in the Commonwealth. Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) sets aside millions of dollars in tax credits through the EITC program allowing eligible Pennsylvania businesses to reduce their state tax liability by making charitable donations to approved nonprofit organizations such as ECCSS.

These tax credits are a dollar for dollar reduction of actual taxes owed…better than a tax deduction! A win/win situation!

You can change the life of a student by reallocating your tax dollars to our Catholic school community!

What is the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) Program?

The OSTC Program provides scholarships to eligible students who wish to attend a participating public or nonpublic school of their choice. Students, who live within the attendance boundaries of a low-achieving school as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, are eligible to receive an opportunity scholarship provided they also meet the household income criteria.

Pennsylvania now allows for a new kind of business partnership, a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), to take part in the EITC program.

What is a Special Purpose Entity?

A Special Purpose Entity is a new class of pass-through partnership that exists solely for the purpose of earning Educational Improvement (or Opportunity Scholarship) Tax Credits. It is easy to get tax credits by joining an SPE by simply signing a joinder agreement, which reserves your tax credits for the year. You complete the process by contributing your tax dollars to the SPE’s scholarship organization rather than the state. The final act is to make your contribution by December 31 in order to receive the tax credit for the year.

For more information on how to apply for a Special Purpose Entity click here.

Click here to learn more about the EITC/OSTC program directly on the PA Department of Community and Economic Development website.